Short report: a consideration of primaquine dose adjustment for radical cure of Plasmodium vivax malaria.
- 1 March 2000
- journal article
- Published by American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Vol. 62 (3) , 393-395
- https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2000.62.393
Abstract
Relapse of Plasmodium vivax malaria following standard primaquine dosing has been reported from many areas, and more recently from sub-Saharan Africa. In this report we describe eight episodes (in five patients) of treatment failure in non-immune Israeli travelers returning from Ethiopia. Retrospective calculation of the primaquine dose per kilogram of body weight for 23 treatment courses showed a lower total dose per kilogram in heavier patients. The mean calculated dose (95% CI) in the eight failed treatments was 2.5 +/- 0.3 mg/kg compared with 4.4 +/- 0.5 mg/kg in the 15 successful treatment courses. Weight-adjusted dosing regimens may prevent inadvertent subtherapeutic drug failure, and thus apparent primaquine failure. In these cases, no relapses were observed in those who received > 3.5 mg/kg. Consideration should be given to adjusting the dose of primaquine according to body weight. For those infected by strains from Ethiopia a dose > 3.5 mg/kg is preferable.Keywords
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